Page 88 of Sweet Possession
It was a beautiful home for a final restingplace.
I swallowed nervously as I took in the rows of graves, most withmarble headstones in pristine condition, some older and weathered over the years. A chill ran down my spine. I didn’t believe in ghosts or the afterlife, but being this close to death made the hairs on the back of my neck prickle.
“Is this where Jessie is buried?”I asked, turning to Nash.
We’d barely spoken throughout the thirty-minute drive here. I’d beentoo worried about Fox to talk, somethingthatseemedto be reflected in Nash too.
“Yeah,”Nash replied, taking another turn which took us away from thegraves, and along a narrow gravel track with thick hedges on either side.“Has he told you anything about her?”
“Onlythatshe died when she was four. He said he’d tell me one day,but…”I shrugged, letting out a sigh.“I guess he wasn’t ready.”
I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t wondered on more than one occasionabout what happened to Jessie, but Fox never pushed me to talk about something until I was ready, so I wasn’t going to force him.
Nash pulled into a space in a small parking lot designed forno more than three of four cars. The only other car present was Fox’s. Relief washed through methatwe’d found him.
“He struggles to talk about it,”Nash said, killing the engine butkeeping his gaze on the hedge in front of us.“It took him a long time to open up and tell me what happened to Jessie. For years, I thought he’d always been an only child. In fact, I think I’m probably the only person he’s ever told.”
I didn’t know what to say so I kept my mouth shut. Nash shifted in hisseat to face me, a sorrowful expression on his face.“He had a lot of therapy to process what happened, but there are days when I know he still blames himself.”
He fell silent, his gaze trailing over my shoulder and fixing onsomething behind me. I reached out to place my hand on top of his, and it wasatthatmomentthatI realizedjusthow much Nash and Fox meant to each other. If one of them was hurting, so was the other.
My touch made his eyes snap back to me, warmth seeping into them.
“You know, I always felt like Fox had a part of him missing. But sincehe met you, he’s different. Like he’s genuinely happy instead ofjustpretending to be happy.”He moved his hand out from under mine but instead of removing it completely, he took my hand in his.“You’re good for him, Cora. He’s finally found the other half of him.”
I grinned, my gaze locking on where Nash held my hand.“He’s goodfor me too.”
“Yeah.Justdon’t tell himthattoo often, his ego is big enough as it is,”Nash said, chuckling before turning serious again.“Behind you, there’s a paththatwill take you to Jessie’s grave.”
I looked over my shoulder to see where Nash had indicated, finding astone paththatdisappeared between two thick hedges.
“What if he doesn’t want me here?”I whispered, remembering howFox had told me to stay in the house.
Nash squeezed my hand, giving me a kind smile.“He does.Justbepatient with him.”
I swallowed down my anxiety. Fox had always been there for mewhen I needed him. Now it was my turn to be there for him.
Nerves thundered through me as I got out of the car and took thepath. Ahead of me, a clearing with the same manicured lawn came into view, and as the hedges fell away, my breath caught in my throat.
In the middle of the small clearingthatwas enclosed by the thickhedge was an immaculate grave all alone.
A grave small enough for a child.
The gravestone was beautiful, made out of white, gray, and blackmarble, with words in gold writing etched into it.
Jessie Fox
Born 05.05.2001 Died 06.11.2005
Forever in my heart,
Love, your big brother, Jesse xx
I read the words several times as birds chirped merrily around me,not a care in the world. Below the writing, lying at the foot of the gravestone was a bouquet of fresh blue roses. Glittering gemstones covered the top of the grave, catching the sun’s rays and making it appear like spots of sunlight were dancing. Around the edge of the grave, outlining the size were white marble stones.
“I should have known Nash would find me.”
My head whipped to the side. I hadn’t seen Fox sitting on a bench,one long leg crossed over the other. He didn’tseemupset anymore. In fact, he looked calm.
